Are you using the top words in your resume? Are they the best available words in 2010 that will represent who you are and highlight your expertise in your resume? Without pictures, graphics, videos and a family portrait, your professional resume is just that, words. In an effort to make the best possible impression you must give careful consideration to each and every word you choose. These words must be strong, current, descriptive and action packed.
Today’s resume does not contain an objective but rather a pro-jective. The goal is not to relay to the employer what your objective is but to impress upon the employer that you have the skills and the ability to fulfil their needs and position yourself as a potential candidate. Use words that the employer is looking for. Here are a few words that will highlight your soft skills to the reader:
Visionary, Results-driven, Articulate, Proactive, Technically minded, “Outstanding analytical, problem-solving, leadership, technology and communication skills”
Hard skills must be specific and most importantly up to date. Noting “computer literate” is a waste of space as it would be difficult to assume any position today without computer literacy. Here are a few words representing hard skills:
Enterprise Application Integration, Project Management, RFP /RFI / RFQ, Business Analysis, Application/Systems Architecture
Use words of action when listing your experience and clearly describe your accomplishments, quantifying, (use numbers) whenever possible. Concentrate on your accomplishments not your responsibilities. Never begin with, “Responsible for”. Don’t use the same word over and over again. There are too many available to justify repetition. The last thing you want to do is bore the reader. Here are a few action words:
Accentuated, Adjudicated, Broadened, Bolstered, Conceptualized, Championed, Demonstrated, Differentiated, Established, Exceeded, Formulated, Facilitated, Generated, Garnered, Heightened, Honed, Illustrated, Implemented, Joined, Justified, Leveraged, Marketed, mentored, Negotiated, Navigated, Operated, Officiated, Procured, Positioned, Qualified, Queried, Restructured, Regulated, Streamlined, Scrutinized, Transformed, Tabulated, Utilized, Updated,Verified, Visualized, Weighed, Widened, Yielded
What words are you using in your resume? Will they influence the reader to call you for an interview? Submit your resume for a free resume critique by a Certified Professional Resume Writer and find out.
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